Article Contributed on: 9/5/2006 9:11:16 AM
The search for a missing Marine in Eldorado Springs Canyon has now turned to a missing-persons investigation, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.
"The ground search for missing injured hiker
Lance Hering, 21, was concluded late Sunday (Sept. 3) afternoon as the effort now transitions from an active search to a missing persons investigation," states a press release from the sheriff's Commander
Phil West.
"Over 100 people were officially involved with the search Sunday under the auspices of the Sheriff's Office. Untold others, recruited by family and friends, were involved in private efforts along the Mesa Trail and the open space areas south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)," West said.
"Division Chief Dennis Hopper made the decision to call off further ground search efforts after consulting with Sheriff's Office Emergency Services personnel, search team leaders, and Mr.
Lloyd Hering, Lance's father. The consensus of opinions was that, after five days' intensive effort, search and rescue personnel had searched every probable location in the Canyon and environs, and on many occasions, had re-searched the same area repeatedly," the release states.
Now confident that Hering is not within the search perimeter, the Sheriff's Office concluded its search efforts and began a missing-person investigation. Hering's father made a personal appeal Sept. 3 to his son to call home via the television and newspaper reporters present at the scene, concerned that the head injury sustained by Lance in his climbing fall late Tuesday night may have affected his memory and that he may be confused or disoriented.
The Sheriff's Office, and Hering's father, hope is that publicity, will enable the missing Marine to see the coverage and call home. Hering suffered another temporary memory loss after a fall when he was 11 years old, his father said.
The Sheriff's Office is continuing the investigation by conducting interviews with family and friends, sharing information with other law enforcement agencies and publicizing the circumstances of the young Marine's disappearance, West said. Anyone with information to offer is asked to contact Detective
Steve Ainsworth at 303-441-3627.
Assisting the sheriff's search efffort were the Boulder Rural Fire Protection District, Alpine Search and Rescue, Boulder City Parks and Open Space, Douglas County Search and Rescue, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Garfield County Search and Rescue, Grand County Search and Rescue, Larimer County Search and Rescue, Rampart Search and Rescue, Summit County Search and Rescue, Western State Search and Rescue, Strasburg Fire Department, High Country Fire Protection District, and personnel from Rocky Mountain National Park. A contingent of 34 retired and active-duty Marines also participated.
The Denver Police helicopter assisted for a two days, providing a perspective from the air and using its Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) equipment to look for unattributed heat sources in the heavily-forested and rocky terrain.
Lance Hering is described as a white male, 21 years of age, 6'1" tall, approximately 180 pounds, with close-cropped blond hair in a military style cut, and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a torn black t-shirt and light-colored khaki pants. He sustained a head injury in a climbing fall hours before he disappeared and had a bandage fashioned from the fabric of his shirt wrapped around the wound.